ACU Women Beat Angelo State, 53-39
By: Lance Fleming, ACU Assistant Director of Athletics for Media Relations
Updated: January 23, 2013
SAN ANGELO - Despite shooting just 27 percent from the field, going scoreless for more than 10 minutes of the first half and scoring 24 points below their league-leading average, the ACU Wildcats somehow managed to snap a seven-game losing streak at the Junell Center with a 53-39 win over Angelo State in Lone Star Conference women's basketball action.
The win pushes the Wildcats to 13-3 overall and 8-2 in the LSC and keeps them tied atop the league standings with Tarleton State and Midwestern State. The Rambelles, meanwhile, fall to 7-9 and 4-6, and will be at ACU's Moody Coliseum on Saturday for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff in the continuation of the LSCs Rivalry Week.
Neither team could get much going offensively as they struggled to hit everything: free throws, layups, mid-range jumpers and 3-pointers. But when Kelsey Smith hit two free throws with 13:37 to play, it was the start of a 31-15 ACU run to end the game and push the Wildcats to their sixth straight victory.
Renata Marquez gave the Wildcats the lead back at 11:43 to play with a 3-pointer to make it 27-24, and the Wildcats wouldn't trail the rest of the way. The Rambelles, however, cut the ACU lead to 34-32 with 6:43 to play, but the Wildcats would finish the game on a 19-7 run to seal the victory.
Mackenzie Lankford hit a 3-pointer with 5:50 to play to make it a 37-32 lead, ACU's biggest lead since a 10-4 score early in the game. ACU began extending its lead when Marquez converted a traditional three-point play with 5:09 to play to make it 40-34. ACU's lead dropped to 42-38 with 3:59 to play, but the Rambelles would score just one more point the rest of the way.
Senior Emily Miller played a big part in the final four minutes of the game, coming up with a big steal, a couple of rebounds and hitting 3 of 4 from the line. The Wildcats' lead hit double digits for the first time on the night with 2:07 to play when Kynzie Newman buried a 3-pointer to make it 49-39. The Wildcats would finish out the game from the line as they won in San Angelo for the first time since a 75-66 overtime win on Feb. 15, 2005.
The Wildcats' 53-point effort is their lowest winning point total since a 56-46 win over Northeastern State on Nov. 29, 2007, in Abilene. And the Rambelles' 39 points is the lowest point total by an NCAA Division I opponent since Texas Woman's lost to the Wildcats, 70-37, in the 1982-83 regular-season finale.
The Wildcats shot just 27.3 percent from the field for the game (15 of 55), including just 6 of 23 from 3-point range (26.1 percent). The first half was even worse as they hit just 6 of 29 shots from the floor and scored a season-low 18 points in the first 20 minutes.
Angelo State, fortunately, wasn't much better as the Rambelles shot just 23.5 percent for the game (12 for 51), including 0 for 13 from 3-point range. The Rambelles hit 6 of 24 from the field in the first half and 6 of 27 in the second half.
Smith led the Wildcats in scoring with 10 points, followed by nine for Marquez and Lankford, and eight for Whitney West, whose 3-pointer with two seconds left in the first half tied the score at 18-18 at the half.
The win pushes the Wildcats to 13-3 overall and 8-2 in the LSC and keeps them tied atop the league standings with Tarleton State and Midwestern State. The Rambelles, meanwhile, fall to 7-9 and 4-6, and will be at ACU's Moody Coliseum on Saturday for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff in the continuation of the LSCs Rivalry Week.
Neither team could get much going offensively as they struggled to hit everything: free throws, layups, mid-range jumpers and 3-pointers. But when Kelsey Smith hit two free throws with 13:37 to play, it was the start of a 31-15 ACU run to end the game and push the Wildcats to their sixth straight victory.
Renata Marquez gave the Wildcats the lead back at 11:43 to play with a 3-pointer to make it 27-24, and the Wildcats wouldn't trail the rest of the way. The Rambelles, however, cut the ACU lead to 34-32 with 6:43 to play, but the Wildcats would finish the game on a 19-7 run to seal the victory.
Mackenzie Lankford hit a 3-pointer with 5:50 to play to make it a 37-32 lead, ACU's biggest lead since a 10-4 score early in the game. ACU began extending its lead when Marquez converted a traditional three-point play with 5:09 to play to make it 40-34. ACU's lead dropped to 42-38 with 3:59 to play, but the Rambelles would score just one more point the rest of the way.
Senior Emily Miller played a big part in the final four minutes of the game, coming up with a big steal, a couple of rebounds and hitting 3 of 4 from the line. The Wildcats' lead hit double digits for the first time on the night with 2:07 to play when Kynzie Newman buried a 3-pointer to make it 49-39. The Wildcats would finish out the game from the line as they won in San Angelo for the first time since a 75-66 overtime win on Feb. 15, 2005.
The Wildcats' 53-point effort is their lowest winning point total since a 56-46 win over Northeastern State on Nov. 29, 2007, in Abilene. And the Rambelles' 39 points is the lowest point total by an NCAA Division I opponent since Texas Woman's lost to the Wildcats, 70-37, in the 1982-83 regular-season finale.
The Wildcats shot just 27.3 percent from the field for the game (15 of 55), including just 6 of 23 from 3-point range (26.1 percent). The first half was even worse as they hit just 6 of 29 shots from the floor and scored a season-low 18 points in the first 20 minutes.
Angelo State, fortunately, wasn't much better as the Rambelles shot just 23.5 percent for the game (12 for 51), including 0 for 13 from 3-point range. The Rambelles hit 6 of 24 from the field in the first half and 6 of 27 in the second half.
Smith led the Wildcats in scoring with 10 points, followed by nine for Marquez and Lankford, and eight for Whitney West, whose 3-pointer with two seconds left in the first half tied the score at 18-18 at the half.
